Edexcel A-Level History historical skills and coursework overview quiz quiz

Evaluating primary sources in their historical context for AO2

Weighing historians' differing interpretations, which is the focus of AO3

Analysis and evaluation leading to a substantiated judgement

Memorising dates and names to recall them accurately under timed conditions

The analysis of historians' interpretations, which is what AO3 actually assesses

The ability to recall facts and dates accurately under timed conditions

Essay planning and structure rather than the handling of evidence itself

The analysis and evaluation of primary sources in context

The analysis and evaluation of historians' interpretations

Primary-source evaluation in context, which is what AO2 actually assesses in Paper 2

Spelling, punctuation and grammar across the extended written responses

Exam timing and the management of pace across each section of the paper

Its length and the amount of detail it contains about the event

Its nature, origin and purpose: who made it, when, why and for whom

Whether it is handwritten or printed, and how legible the copy provided is

Its position in the exam paper and how many marks the question carries

Dismiss it as worthless evidence because its bias makes it unreliable for the enquiry

Treat it as fully objective and report its content as straightforward fact

Explain what its bias or purpose makes it valuable for

Ignore the enquiry and simply summarise what the source says

Naming the historians behind each extract without analysing the arguments they make

Reaching a clear, substantiated judgement on which interpretation is most convincing

Using too much own knowledge to test the claims made within the extracts

Writing a general essay on the topic instead of engaging with the extracts

They use different evidence, ask different questions, or write in different contexts

They never genuinely differ, since the established facts of the event fix one account

Only because of careless errors that a more careful historian would simply avoid making

Because the underlying facts of the past themselves change as time goes on

1000 to 1500 words

3000 to 4000 words

8000 to 10000 words

There is no word limit

A primary-source pack only, evaluated for provenance without any historiography

A timed exam essay written under controlled classroom conditions in one sitting

A historical controversy on which historians genuinely disagree

A multiple-choice test covering the key dates and figures of the period

It is marked entirely by external Pearson examiners

It is peer-marked by other students in the class

It is not marked and counts only as practice

It is school-marked and moderated by Pearson